Four Fishermen Missing Off Texas Gulf Coast

One crew member was found on a life raft.

Receive the latest national-international updates in your inbox

The U.S. Coast Guard used boats, a helicopter and airplanes Saturday to search for four fishermen who went missing off the Texas Gulf Coast after their boat sank.

The Coast Guard received a distress signal from the 50-foot vessel at 3:30 a.m. Friday, Petty Officer Richard Brahm said. The boat began sinking about 115 miles southeast of Galveston, not far from the Texas-Louisiana border.

About five hours later, at 8:30 a.m., a search team found crew member John Robinson on a life raft. Robinson was returned to Galveston later Friday, and told the Coast Guard he was unsure what had happened to the other four fishermen that were on board, Brahm said.

Overnight, the Coast Guard used one cutter and one aircraft to search an area slightly smaller than the state of Delaware. They added two more aircraft to the hunt at daybreak Saturday, Brahm said.

"We're going to keep searching until someone tells us to stop," he said, noting that the Coast Guard uses a variety of factors to determine whether there is a possibility the men could still be alive.